National Republican., 1887-10-13
TO BE A SOLDIER.
Physical Requirements that Not. Many
Applicants Can Meet.

Portland Press.
"Then what few men are out Of employ
ment and want to go into Uncle Same SER
vice are most Of them not up to the stand
ard" said Lieut. Cusick, who is In charge
Of the recruiting Office recently removed to
Portland from Pittsburg, Pa. 1t is the tlrst
opened In Maine for great many years,
perhaps the first since the days Of the war.
The lieutenant continued:
"The United States army wants 1,500
men at once to bring its strength up to the
5000 required by the act Of Congress. SO
far we have had bu: 81 applications In Port
land, and only three Of them have besn ac-
ceptable. OF the other 10 there was one
'out or another that compelled us to reject
them. Fully two.tbirds OF them had defec-
tive eyes. One eye was not SO good as the
other. In the army q man must
have good eyes that he may be-
come good marksman, and that he may be
able TO distinguish different objects. One
eye should be AS good as the other, so that
in case Of temporary injury to an eye the
efficiency OF the soldier may not be i'm
paired. Dssipated habits, to much rum and
tobacco are common causes Of these weak
pesses OF the eyes. In many cases defects
of vision have been produced by blows.
"Thtn In chest measurements and weigh
we find frequent reasons for rejecting ap
plicants, especially at this season Of the
year The hard work of summer reduces
the weight and The giith of the chest. We
have a regular system OF measurements,
and 1t will not do to depart from stand
ard In single particular. For the Infantry
service we take none below feet
inches in height, and none over
9 feet 3 inches. For the cavalry 5
feet 4 inches to 8 feet 10 inches are the
limits. We don't have any tall cavalry
,.Nn,. hnn tta,, tail N, 80,
heavy. Light, tough men are wanted for
that service. Now for the shortest infau-
trymen, feet 4 inches, we require that
he shall have weight of 12S pounds,
chest measurement OF "a inches, with the
ability to expand his chest 2 inches by
drawing in full breath. Then these re-
qurements OF weight and chest measure
ments are higher for taller men. A man
feet inches tall must weigh al pounds
at least, measure 34t around The chest, and
have chest expansion OF 81 inches; for 5
feet 10 inches the required minimum Is l55
pounds for weight, 35l inches chest and %
expansion; for G feet he weight is 1863, the
chest measurement 361, expansion 81. You
see II does not necessarily follow that a man
must be an athlete to join the army, as
the tables to which the professors of physi-
cal culture train their pupils to have a
standard Of chest measurement somewhere
-
we want good average, well-bullt, aud
healthy men, without any defects physl
cally. So far We have secured three out
OF every twenty applicants. But don't
think this small proportion is any sign that
the vigor vt the youth OF Maine is depart
ing. For many reasons the men who ap-
ply are not fair samples"
"Are the inducements offered by the SER
vice such as to attract the most ambitious
young men ?" asked the reporter.
swell, you can judge for yourself. The
soldier gets $l2 month with his board
and clothes. He enlists for five years,
and must stay In I e service until his term
expires, unless he can get the Secretary Of
War to allow his discharge. BY good be-.
havior he gets an increase of 81 month
during the third wear of service, SO during
the fourth, and SO during the ffth. II he
Is promoted he gets further additions to
his pay. He may become a corporal a
sergeant, q quartermaster sergeant, Il quar-
termaster or commissary; he may even go
higher, and by passing an examination be.
fore board OF officers get certified for an
examination at Fort Monroe, Va, II he
passes at the fort he NAV then become a
commissioned officer, starting as a second
lieutenant.n
"Do many avail themselves of the oppor.
tunityi"
"The young men who graduate at West
Point have the first chance, and of late
they have filled all the vacant commits
sioDs Practically very few men rise
the army from the ranks to commission.
Adjutant General Drum, however, is one
who did. l am not graduate Of West
Point myself, but serve6 as an officer Of
volunteers during the war, and was then
transferred to the regular army as com
missloned officer. So had an opportunity
better than falls TO the young man who
enters the army now In any other way than
through West Point. Yet there are some
promotions even now. The commissions
OF the army are also open TO civilians,
though this is not generally known. After
the West Point graduates have got places,
and the promotions from the ranks OF non
commissioned officers have been made, any
vacancies left (tbere are rarely any, how
ever) are open TO civilians who can pass the
examination required"